David Roberts, R.A.

Lord Francis Egerton, later 1^st Earl of Ellesmere (1800-1857), purchased from the artist,

The Ellesmere Sale, London, Christie's, 2 April 1870, lot 86, bt Agnew;

with Agnew’s, London,

by whom sold to Thomas Brassey, later 1^st Earl Brassey (1836-1918),

by descent to his son, Thomas, 2^nd Earl Brassey (1863-1919),

his executors' sale, London, Christie's, 28 November 1919, lot 40, bt Boydell,

with The Boydell Galleries, Liverpool;

sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 April 1991, lot 81, bt Agnew's on behalf of the parents of the present owners. 

Oxford, The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, on long-term loan, 2015 - 2021  

In his journal for the 5^th of April 1839 Roberts wrote about the Church of St Helena (also known as the Church of the Nativity) as follows: ‘The Church of the Nativity is in form very similar to the basilica church of Saint Paul at Rome. A temporary screen divides the nave from the transepts and choir, and in the latter is the Greek church which appears to be nearly as old as the rest of the Church. In the transepts are the chapels of the Armenians and Latins which are very poor, immediately beneath the former is the Chapel of the Nativity, the space is exceedingly small and hung with lamps but seems poor after that of Mount Sinai.'¹

The church was originally commissioned in 327 by the Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helena, and was completed in 339. On the 6^th of April, which is the date Roberts has inscribed on the present work, he wrote: 'Today while I was sketching the interior of the chapel, a man arrived from Jerusalem with the sacred fire, which the priests say comes from heaven; and the whole of the Greek Christians turned out to receive him, carrying banners, and headed by their priests. All were soon in the greatest excitement, each struggling to obtain the first light.'² According to Greek Orthodox tradition, the Holy or Sacred Fire is a miracle which happens annually in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the day before Orthodox Easter: a flame ignites spontaneously over the tomb of Christ and turns into a column of fire from which candles are lit by the priests and the faithful. The flame is then distributed to Greek and Russian Orthodox churches as far afield as Odessa. In this watercolour Roberts shows the pilgrims and priests awaiting the arrival of the Holy Fire. The subject was later lithographed for The Holy Land but it appears that the print was taken from a second watercolour version that is now in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.³

The Roberts scholar, Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz, has pointed out that the present image is particularly significant because, in 1842 (three years after Roberts’s visit) a decision was taken to white-wash the interior walls of the church. This process completely obliterated the wall paintings that can be seen here and that, according to written sources,  illustrated scenes from the New Testament. This and the above mentioned 'Liverpool' watercolour, together with an oil painting of this subject by Roberts, are thought very likely to be the only surviving visual records of this important decorative scheme. 

The present lot has a long history and was one of those acquired directly from the artist by Lord Egerton (see lot 301 for further information). Later it belonged to 1^st Earl Brassey, who served as Governor of Victoria, Australia between 1895 and 1900. For another work in this sale owned by Lord Brassey, please see lot 330. 

^1.     J. Ballantine, The Life of David Robert, R.A., London 1866, p. 130

^2.     J. Ballantine, lit.op.cit, London 1866, p. 131